In the past 2 years we’ve added 2 kit-style coops to our chicken yard. When I say kit-style I’m referring to the types of coops that you often find in your feed store or that you can order on Amazon. They usually come in a large box and you have to bolt the panels together […]

This year we are downsizing certain areas of our farm and really taking some intentional/mindful  looks at where we want to go in the future. I feel like, at this point, we’ve tried a lot of things. We’ve raised a lot of different animals and over the years I’ve realized I have favorites and preferences […]

Sandy Cryder — When I got my first small backyard flock, my choices for how to keep them were few. I had a small coop given to me by my neighbors and a fenced in backyard. I was ready! Starting Small The gift coop was a good size for 4 hens. It was portable and […]

Chickens are voracious diggers and eaters. Yes, they will destroy your garden unless you take some precautions. Liz Fulghum shares practical tips for letting your chickens work in your gardens and protecting your vegetables. If you’re a vegetable gardener contemplating getting a few chickens, chances are you’ve done a little bit of research on what’s […]

Frank Hyman shares plans and instructions for a practical (and cute) poultry nesting box. Nest Box Necessities A lot of thought went into the design and construction of our coop’s nest box. It’s such an important feature that my wife, Chris – the livestock manager – asked me – the facilities manager – to install […]

First of a three part series. Dr. Jacquie Jacob shares her research on how to effectively use heritage breeds for small-scale meat production operations. Small-Scale Chicken Production Small-scale broiler chicken enterprises are often competing with large commercial companies for a share of the consumer market. But there are ways that small producers can differentiate themselves […]

Lots of folks are perfectly happy to incubate their chicken eggs to produce healthy chicks. But some homesteaders really want to work with their broody hens to hatch eggs. Author Amy Fewell shares her experiences and lots of suggestions for efficient hatching with a broody hen. Rocky Beginnings I can still remember thinking that all […]

Joel Salatin (aka Chicken Man) is a familiar name among chicken keepers, small poultry business owners, and homestead rebels. We asked Joel to share with our readers how he got started with broiler chickens and what keeps him going. Beginnings On Sept. 24, 1982, I was a married 25-year-old with a 1-year-old son, doing the town […]

It’s spring time when lots of folks are getting their first chickens, or are adding more birds to their flocks.  Blogger Claire Woods shares tips for coop building materials. While dreaming up your ideal chicken coop, you know you want it to be safe, functional, and probably pleasing to look at. Chicken lovers are coming […]

If you are interested in feeding your chickens for free, Jonathan Engels has 9 innovative ways for you to try in this poultry permaculture-focused Feature Article. About 50 million years ago, long before there were sacks of cracked corn or even farmers to distribute the grains, chickens were wild birds that inhabited the jungles of […]